Chapter 4 - Weird conversation

I got up from the bed, walking towards the mirror I spotted at a corner of the room. It hung on the wall, and it was tall enough for me to see a full view of my whole body. I still looked like a mess. My dress was a bit bigger than my body so the strap fell slightly over my shoulder. My white hair still had dirt in them and they were tangled from not maintaining them.

I moved them from my shoulder to untangle them but I noticed two marks on my shoulders. It looked like a bite mark but I would recall if I had been bitten by a snake.

My stomach let out a growl interrupting my thoughts and I decided to take a shower first.

Madam Beth handed the dress and flat black pair of shoes over to me and I thanked her greatly. It was like the maids uniform except mine was just a sleeved, plain black dress with a white collar while the maids had waist aprons attached to theirs. Guessing each room had a bathroom, I walked into it and set my dress on the little stool nearby. I walked into the cubicle and turned on the showers. The water was warm and it was perfect. I washed my hair properly with the soap and moved over to my body trying to avoid the whip lash marks on my skin which hurt badly.

After a long bath, I walked out feeling refreshed, hoping I hadn't spent too much time and missed my master ringing for me.

Just then, two young maids walked into the room giggling between themselves. They noticed me and I bowed my head timidly, looking at my feet.

I expected them to say hi or anything but they just continued their giggling, walking past me. Mm..I guess they don't like me.

I walked out of the room to see if my help was needed anywhere and maybe eat if I'm offered food.

I got to the kitchen and I found Beatrice and Ian alone. They weren't preparing anything. It looked like they were cleaning up. I stood near one of the kitchen cabinets.

"Oh Hi, Raven" Ian noticed and I smiled lightly.

"Are you alright, dear? You must be hungry" She asked and I looked down at my feet.

"Of course, she's hungry Beatrice" Ian rolled his eyes, walking towards a plastic cooler.

He poured some rice dish into a plate and my mouth watered as he handed them to me.

"You could sit over…" he said but I already sat down on the ground, digging into it with my bare hand.

"...or you could do that," Ian said.

"Careful Mon Cherie, you could choke" She said and I lifted my head realizing I was acting like a beggar.

In no time, I had finished the meal, cleaning the ceramic plate with my tongue.

"Do you want more dear?" Beatrice asked and I nodded. She laughed, pouring me some more.

After eating to my full, I helped with the dishes and mopped the floor clean.

"Oh…good I found you" Madam Beth said as I rounded up the cleaning.

"The master wants to see you," she said, leaving and my heart skipped a bit.

I dragged myself out of the kitchen and towards the bedroom I had woken up in, though it was hard to find. I was about to knock when I heard noise coming from inside. I listened closely to know if I had to come back later but the noise stopped and I knocked.

"What?" I heard a voice yell from inside and I opened the door to meet a man towering over a lady on the bed.

"Oh my heavens, who's that? What do you want?" A female yelled covering herself up, with the young man beside her. I recognized her to be one of the maids I was introduced to and when she saw me, I noticed her wide eyes.

"Oh my gosh, I'm sorry, I thought you said I could come in. I'll leave now" I said, closing the door. Oh no! Wrong room. I hope I don't get in trouble for that. I walked forward and finally found the right room. I think. I knocked and when I heard the voice…

"Come in…" I recalled the voice and entered the room. The room was just as I remembered but I hadn't noticed the corner dedicated to stationary and study. He sat on the chair writing on a paper with a goose feather and an ink on the table.

"You called, master" I said, my head bowed. His silence as he wrote made me anxious.

"Why wasn't my room taken care of?" He asked, his eyes still on what he was doing and I wondered if I was supposed to do it. Madam Beth never assigned chores to me, she only said he would tell me what to do.

"Are you deaf or just stupid?" He said looking at me, with no smile on his face. I knew if I didn't answer soon, I could get whipped.

"I…I'm sorry, master. I wasn't aware of my duties" I said, keeping my head down. He kept quiet for a while before turning back to his work. I didn't know if I had to leave or wait for instructions.

A knock came in on the door and I shook, startled.

"Come in" my master said and a young man walked in. I recognized him from the room I had opened by mistake. He stared at me for a while, making me uncomfortable, then he smirked, moving on to what he came for.

"Master, I bring news" He said but didn't get any reply.

"The rate of death has increased among the huma…" he said to the master but he paused, looking at me. He gestured towards the door for me to leave.

"She'll know sooner or later, so out with it" The master said, finally giving him full attention.

"The rate of death has increased among the humans outside these walls and their protests are increasing as well" he said.

"They believe it's some sort of wild bear as the victim suffer from scratches all over their body"

"...and they keep flocking our gates asking for our help. What do we do?" He asked and the master scratched his chin.

"Handle it…" The master said, turning back to his work.

"...but sir, we.."

"Are you responsible for the death?" He asked.

"No…I suspect Black phoenix, sir"

"Then let it be, just don't let them through the gates" the master said.

"Ok sir" he said, turning away, looking at me.

What a weird conversation.